


Burning Silence

by wrenxsq



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Assassin Keith (Voltron), Big Brother Shiro (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), College Student Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Like really slow, M/M, Principal Alfor, Slow Burn, The Kerberos mission doesnt happen, Why does Hunk always get dragged into Lance's schemes, journalist lance, klance, save him, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-13 22:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11769804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrenxsq/pseuds/wrenxsq
Summary: Two mysteries draw two very different people together, for better or for worse.One thinks digging up the truth will get him a good grade for a journalism project.The other thinks digging up the truth will get him the answers he has been searching for his entire life.Both doubt whether they truly want to go deeper into the mysteries when the truth comes to light.Though only one will have to face a decision that may change his future forever.





	1. Darkness

Keith could feel his heartbeat in his ears, the silence was deafening. He anxiously rubbed his hands together in hopes to take his mind off of the situation he had found himself in. It was such a simple job, how’d it turn out like this? He could feel bruises forming on the places where his legs were pressed up against the walls of the cramped closet walls, if you could even call it a closet.

A loud and sudden crash erupted from inside the room he was hiding in, breaking the silence and what he guessed was a vase. He felt his breath catch in his throat. Did they find him? “Hunk, what are you doing? Do you want to attract attention to yourself?! We aren’t even allowed to be in here!” A young male’s hushed voice filled the fragile air, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. “Why are we doing this again? Can we go back to our dorm now?” Another male’s voice, who Keith guessed to be Hunk, responded. “I need this grade, man. This will earn me an A for sure.”

He carefully, and silently, maneuvered his body so that he could peek out of the gap between the wall and the closet door. His eyes quickly found the source of all the commotion. A pair of dark skinned men were standing near the entrance to the room, both with a flashlight in hand. Keith inferred that the larger one of the pair, the only one who was visibly distressed, was named Hunk.

His eyes quickly looked at the unnamed male, who had this confident smile plastered on his face. He placed his free hand on his hip and gestured with the hand which held the flashlight, causing the beam of light to dance around the room. “Come on, Hunk! What could go wrong?” Keith internally winced, has he seen movies? Something always goes wrong after that line is said. A sudden realization came over him.

These two will unknowingly get caught up in his mission if they don’t leave immediately. Keith started to panic, he didn’t want anyone not involved to get hurt in any of his jobs. He had to get them out of here and not reveal his face. “Lance, why do you even think you can find it here anyway?” Lance? The name seemed familiar to Keith, though he didn’t know from where. This was the college attended before getting expelled, so Lance could've been one of his classmates. He brushed off the odd feeling and searched his surroundings.

A fire alarm located across the room caught his eye. His lips pulled up into a cat-like smile. He cautiously opened the door to the closet, careful not to draw attention to himself. Thankfully, the pair seemed to be too immersed in their petty squabble to notice Keith sneaking past. He briefly took cover behind one of the couches that encircled a table in the middle of the room. His eyes found the beam of light coming from Lance's flashlight that was now settled firmly on the ceiling, above where Keith was crouched.

The light quickly moved away from the ceiling, suddenly taking the light from his hiding place. "Just look, will you? So we can get out of here," Lance said, gritting his teeth. A smirk tugged at Keith's lips. His eyes remained fixated on the fire alarm, as if he was trying to set it off with his mind. It was just out of his reach, he only had to make a run for it. He moved to take the first step towards it, when the sounds of nearing footsteps filled the dense air. The security guards had narrowed down his position and were here to arrest him. He scoffed at the timing of it, but didn't let it phase him. Keith lunged for the fire alarm, successfully pulling it on his first try.

He didn't look to see how the students in there with him reacted, he didn't have time. Confused shouts echoed throughout the campus as the residents woke up from the noise. Keith knew he didn't have lot of time before he was caught by the guards, but he found a group of students evacuating he could make it outside. He rushed by the very disorientated Lance and Hunk, and exited through the main door of the office. The group of security guards called out for backup as Keith sprinted in the opposite direction. He mentally thanked himself for attending the school long enough to get a hold of the layout as he weaved through the maze of hallways.

A group of dazed and confused students came into view as he turned another corner. He let out a sigh of relief as he politely blended into the huddle. Keith looked down to see if his outfit could pass as student's, and remembered that he had his knife on him. He smoothly hid the blade under his shirt and wrapped his arms over his chest.

Keith thought back to the pair of students he left in the office. What were they looking for? Lance had said that it was for a grade. He shrugged it off, it wasn't his problem.

As he walked, the pair kept coming back to the front of his mind. They seemed so familiar. Had he known them when he was enrolled? Why was he so interested in them? His fingernails dug into his arms, he needed to get a grip.

The group turned down yet another hallway, one Keith was quite familiar with. Since he had to pass through there to get to his dorm, he knew it like it was the back of his hand. Memories of him sneaking out with his boyfriend at the time flooded his mind. A sour smile found it's way on his lips as he remembered the countless adventures the pair had went through together.

Keith fought back tears and decided to leave the past in the past and focus on his escape.


	2. Cryptid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Hunk's point of view

Lance doesn't know what happened. At first, it seemed like his night was going perfectly according to plan. He and Hunk had successfully snuck into Principal Alfor's office to find some information on an expelled student whose entire existence is a mystery.  
  
Then all of a sudden, before he could find any information, the fire alarm started blaring. Both he and Hunk jumped in surprise when a shadowy figure rushed past them and out the door. "Who was that? Why were they in here? Why is the fire alarm going off? Should w-" Lance was quick to cover Hunk's mouth before he started rambling off more questions they both don't have the answer to.  
  
He shone his flashlight over to the fire alarm to see the lever pulled down. "There is no fire, he probably triggered it so he could escape," he stated matter-of-factly. Hunk seemed unconvinced by that, however, and anxiously looked around the dimly lit office. "Let's keep searching, there's no fire." Lance crouched down in front of a bookshelf full of thick binders in order to read the labels. "How sure are you that there's no danger?" Lance sighed, "about like 95%."  
  
Hunk sheepishly flipped through a folder that was placed on a end table which had held the vase that was now in tiny pieces on the floor. "Whose information are we looking for again? Some Kyle?" Lance groaned, "it's Keith, Hunk. Keith Kogane. I told you about him before, haven't I?" Realization washed over Hunk's face, "Oh yeah! The hot asian dude from your English class, right?" A faint blush bloomed on Lance's cheeks, "Yeah."  
  
The pair searched for any information on the enigmatic male, only to find nothing. "Man I just don't get it! It's almost as if he doesn't exist at all, there's not even a trace of his enrollment!" Lance exclaimed, running his hand through his hair. "I mean, he existed right?" Hunk looked at Lance with wide eyes, "Are we sure you didn't just dream up your dream guy and hallucinate him into your day to day life?"  
  
Lance opened up mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. A blush creeped up his neck, "that's not it, Hunk! Sure, he was hot but I wouldn't go as far as saying he's my 'dream guy', he was an asshole." He firmly crossed his arms over his chest and puffed out his cheeks in frustration. Hunk let out an airy laugh, "I was joking! But anyway, isn't it weird how there are no documents on him, like at all? Surely there should be like contact information, or a class schedule." Hunk threw down a folder that he was holding down on a table. Lance stared at Hunk with a shocked expression. "You're absolutely right! I forgot you were actually smart, big guy!"  
  
Hunk furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "thanks?" The journalist grabbed Hunk by the shoulders, "they purposely got rid of all information regarding him, do you know what that means?" He slowly shook his head, too taken by the question to voice his answer. A wide smile spread across Lance's lips.  
  
"Keith Kogane is a cryptid."  
  
Silence hung in the air.  
  
"So..." Lance prompted, his smile only growing. Hunk remained silent. The lack of response didn't phase Lance none as he continued, "so we need the best cryptid hunter we know."  
  
"Pidge."  
  
Lance backed away from him and threw his hands into the air, "bingo!" Hunk sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, "doesn't she have, like, school or something?" Lance shrugged, "don't we?" He picked up his flashlight from the Principal's desk, "plus I don't think it's anything she doesn't already do on school nights." Hunk sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine.” Lance grinned brightly at his friend and grabbed his wrist, dragging his along behind him. “Then let’s get out of here!”

 Hunk smiled and raced up ahead of Lance. The pair broke out in a fit of laughter as they sprinted back to their dorm room. They weaved through the unpopulated hallways and prayed that no one would question why they hadn’t evacuated the building yet.

 Lance was the first to the door of their shared room, winning the ‘race’ they had competed in. Hunk only rolled his eyes and quietly entered the room. No one had said a word when they sat down on the couch they had haphazardly thrown against the wall when they moved in at the beginning of the school year.

 “So, Keith, huh?” Hunk was the first one to break the silence, albeit in an awkward way. “Yep,” came Lance’s enthusiastic reply. Hunk anxiously rubbed his hands together, “wasn’t Keith dating that Lotor guy?”  Lance flushed a pale pink, “wasn’t that only a rumor, though?” The engineer shrugged, “I don’t know. Maybe we could go asking around the campus, someone has to know something about this kid.”

Lance shrugged, “I don’t see why not.” His face suddenly brightened, making Hunk inwardly brace himself. “Unless he really is a cryptid! Then we should get Pidge on the case asap!” He leapt to his feet and dashed towards his desk and unplugged his phone from the charging cable. His thumbs flew across the keyboard, frantically constructing a text message.

  ** _piGEON WE FOUND A CRYPTID FOR U 2 FIND HIS NAME IS KEITH KOGANE EVEERY TRACE OF HIS EXISTENCE HAS BEEN ERASED SPOOPY ISNT IT K THX BI_**

 He smiled in victory as he hit send, a satisfying ding confirmed the delivery of the message. Her reply was almost immediate, _**on it**._   Lance’s smile grew, “She’ll look into him for us.” Hunk rolled his eyes as he stood up, “it’s an ungodly hour to be awake and I have a herbology test tomorrow, so goodnight.” Lance hummed in response and set down his phone.

 The strange man who was hiding in Alfor’s office came back to mind. Who was he? His mind reeled from the prospect of what he was doing there. All he knew was that if he needed to pull a fire alarm to escape, it probably wasn’t legal. Lance’s eyes darted to his computer where his practically empty folder on Keith Kogane stared back at him.

 He sighed and started typing away his growing thoughts and ideas on who exactly Keith Kogane was: the Garrison University Cryptid or a Secret the Garrison Wanted to Cover Up. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

 “This’ll earn me an A for sure.”


	3. Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith gets a visitor.

A ding sounded from Lance's computer, drawing his attention away from his Psychology homework. His body moved on its own, opening up the Skype chat between him and Pidge. He quickly clicked on the link that she had sent him just a minute before. His eyebrows raised in surprise when he realized that the document was almost 1000 words long. A smirk found it's way on his face, "she never fails to impress me."

His smirk widened into a bright smile as he read through the information. "Keith Kogane, age 18, birthday... October 23? That would make him a Scorpius!" He giggled to himself as he kept reading. His smile fell as he read the next line, "lost both of his parents in a tragic car accident the day before his 6th birthday." Lance felt a pang of guilt and wondered if he had misjudged him based on his harsh personality.

He shook it off and continued reading. "Enrolled in Garrison University and attended for only about 5 months before being expelled due to behavior issues regarding the death of his boyfriend, Lotor Galra." A frown tugged at the corners of his lips, "so they _were_ dating."

Hunk knocked on the door frame to announce his arrival, "did you find anything?" Lance nodded absentmindedly. "A fuckton, my dude. He's an orphan and he was dating that guy you were talking about." Hunk leaned down in order to read the file, a chuckle escaping his lips. "Leave it to Pidge to find out someone's entire life story in a single night." Lance forced a smile, his mind still reeling from all the information.

Both of them silently read the rest of the article, their eyebrows furrowed. "He had such a difficult past, it's a miracle he turned out the way he did." Lance nodded, "I mean, losing his boyfriend after all that must've been the last straw." Hunk took the mouse from Lance's hand and started scrolling down, only to find that he was at the end of the article. "Wait, that's it? It just suddenly cuts off after a month and a half after he was expelled?" Lance, frustrated, picked up his phone and messaged their hacker friend.

**_????_ _Pidgeot what the heck ???? Why does it just.. end????_ **

Pidge took a few seconds to reply. **_sorry lance_ _thats_ _all i could find, the dudes a top notch cryptid._**

Lance threw his phone across the room on to the couch, missing the floor by a few inches. Hunk gasped, "why did you do that?! I get you you were angry, but it's your phone, your god damn lifeline! Are you insane?!" The realization hit Lance like a goddamn truck. "My baby!" He practically launched himself towards his phone, "I'm so sorry! It won't happen again, I swear!"

The door to their dorm suddenly flew open, revealing a disheveled male student with a worry painted over his face. Hunk was the first to speak up, "Rolo?" The student smiled slightly before regaining his frantic expression shortly after, "Shiro is doing his rounds and asking about where people were during the situation yesterday. I'm not saying you should hide," he appeared to think something over. "Yeah, you should probably just hide." Rolo sprinted off down the hallway, slamming the door behind him.

Lance reacted almost immediately, he picked himself off the floor and dove into the closet. Hunk, however, couldn't move fast enough. Before he could even take a step forward, the door squeaked open to reveal a heavily built older man with a dyed white puff of hair covering his eyes. "Hello, Hunk. How are you this fine morning?"

Hunk coughed out an awkward laugh, "fine, sir. How about y-you?" Shiro smiled softly, "I'm doing well. Now," he looked around the room. "Where's your roommate?" Hunk avoided his professor's gaze, "you know, Lance. He's probably just... Y'know." A heartfelt laugh erupted from Takashi, surprising Hunk. "Yes, I know. This is college, Hunk! Don't be shy of your roommates sexual endeavors. Which girl is he with this time?"

He opened his mouth to protest but quickly decided against it, "I'm not sure, sir. Maybe Ezor?" Shiro whistled in amazement, "Ezor? Wow I wouldn't have seen _that_ coming from a mile away! Well, good night!" The professor turned and left the room without another word.

Lance popped out of the closet, patting Hunk of the shoulder. "Thanks dude, now Shiro thinks I got it on with Ezor! Fucking Ezor!" A light blush spread across Hunk's face as he shyly rubbed the back of his neck, "I panicked." The friends let out relieved laughs and decided to go back to their previous activities. Lance sat down on the couch in order to work on his homework and Hunk went back to his room where his fantasy roleplaying game sat there, paused.

No matter how much Lance tried to focus on his work that he had to turn in for a grade, his mind kept going back to the infamous Keith Kogane. Doubts started to flood his thoughts. Should he actually publish an article on this kid? He hid his past for a reason, is it truly worth to expose him over a lowly grade?

A few weeks ago, he had overheard some students gossiping about how no one knew anything about Keith Kogane. The topic interested Lance, since he had a few classes with him but knew virtually nothing about his personality aside from his cold exterior. The prospect of Keith letting someone to open up to seemed impossible. Lance had started to wonder what he was like with Lotor. Did he laugh freely with him?

His mind had conjured up an image of Keith laughing until his sides hurt but it only lingered before quickly fading away. "Why are you doing this yourself, Lance?" He stared down at his half finished worksheet and groaned. Lance flopped backwards against the couch, his limbs sprawled out like he was a discarded doll.

How much did Keith hurt? From losing his family, to losing his boyfriend. The pain must be unbearable.

Lance clutched at his heart, "I'm so sorry Keith."

"I'm so sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you like the text messages in italics and bold or just italics?


	4. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed a section near the end of the chapter, it had been bothering me with how I originally wrote it.

Keith stared out into the desert that surrounded his isolated shack. He did this often; just admiring the untainted natural earth without ugly manmade structures obscuring the view. Though he wouldn't call it beautiful. There were no flowers sprouting from the soil, no deer graving lazily through the field, no life... He related too much to this barren wasteland to call it beautiful. 

A soft sigh slipped through his chapped lips as he turned his attention to the board on the wall behind him. The bulletin board had been littered with pictures that Keith had taken of various men throughout their daily lives. He had to memorize each of their daily routines and lie in wait, to take pictures of them when they thought no one was watching.

Keith walked closer to the board, the neatly written notes that littered the board becoming legible. His eyes quickly looked over the information, frustration showing on his face. "Where is he?" He muttered to himself, though that was to be expected. Though, what he didn't expect was a response. "Maybe you're missing something."

He didn't jump, though a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips at the sound of the voice. "What would that something be, Takashi? You never showed interest in this little side project of mine before." Keith glanced over his shoulder at the man, a playful glint shining in his eyes, leaning against the door frame. "What? I can't help my little brother out every once in awhile?" Shiro returned the playful shine in his eyes and through his tone, something Keith would never do. "You never answered my question." His lips had formed a small pout in disappointment.

Shiro shoved his hands into his pockets, a smug expression on his face, "maybe you missed a lead or a connection between one of them. Look closer, little brother, sometimes the answers aren't on the surface." Keith rolled his eyes, "you get a teaching job and suddenly you're a fucking philosopher." The older male didn't say anything, his eyes trained on his brother's face like it was a puzzle he had to solve.  "What?" Keith would've been flustered if it was anyone other than Shiro, he had never been the one for attention.

"It's just," he took a deep breath. "You've changed so much, yet not at all." Keith's eyebrows furrowed at the cryptic statement, "what is that supposed to mean?" Shiro shrugged, "I don't know. You always had this aloof and mysterious air to you, but now..." His sentence trailed off, and Keith was sure he didn't want to hear the rest of it. Though he had expected it to go along the lines of _'but now you're a cold blooded killer who kills anyone, no questions asked, for a few bucks.'_ Even though it was the truth, it stung. Especially coming from Shiro.

"Anyway," he said, trying to get the topic of off their past. "Any ideas about this missing link that I can't seem to find?" He took his hands from out of his pockets and held them up in a half-assed 'I surrender' pose. "Don't ask me, I'm not the smart manipulative assassin in this family." Shiro pushed himself off the door frame and plopped down on to the worn out couch. Something about how his brother had used the word 'family' felt like a kick to the chest.

"I'm not even your family, what the fuck."

The whispered words hung in the air like a thick fog, suffocating them both. "How many times do I have to tell you this, Keith? Even though you're adopted doesn't mean you're less of my little brother! I practically raised you!" Shiro's voice reached a crescendo, making Keith flinch. His face contorted into a scornful grimace, "and look how well that turned out!"

Silence.

God, Keith hated silence. The air was so full of tension, he could barely breath normally. He sheepishly turned his body away from his brother, unable to look him in the eye. "Keith." His voice was laced with desperation, and a certain firmness that only Shiro could manage. He knew how Keith could get when he blew up, especially if it is related to his job. Shiro knew that he had to calm him down quickly and access the damage done to his mental stability. They couldn't have a repeat of what happened last time the emotionally strong Keith Kogane snapped.

"Keith, look at me." His voice was pleading, begging for his brother to just listen to him. It was sad, almost. As if he was the one who could break at any moment.

He could hear Shiro slowly moving towards him, and he knew he would soon be faced with a decision: give in or fight back? If it was up to him, Keith would always choose the latter option. He would rather fight his way through situations, even if he was in the wrong. Keith had stopped choosing to give in a long time ago.

Though for, for some reason, he had wanted to throw himself into Shiro's arms. "I'm sorry, it's just..." His brother was startled at first by the change in Keith's demeanor, but almost immediately regained his composure.  The corners of Shiro's lips turned up into a warm smile.

"How do you kill without any regrets, when you're this much of a softy?"

Keith let out a light chuckle, which could've been mistaken for a cough if Shiro hadn't seen his faint smile. "I may be a softy but I can still kick your ass." Shiro had wished that Keith had hugged him, then he could've rubbed circles on his back like he had done when they were kids. Keith wiped the tears that were welling up in the corners of his eyes and turned to look at the board without a second of hesitation. He acted as if the outburst didn't even take place a few minutes prior.

The assassin tensed, remembering something he had meant to ask his brother.  "Hey, Takashi?" He hummed, "yeah?" Keith pivoted on his heel, a serious expression on his face.

"Are there any students by the name of Lance at the Garrison?"


	5. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro drags Keith onto an adventure.

He looked taken aback by the question. "Students named Lance? Why would you want to know that?" Keith's face flushed with embarrassment, "I heard someone on a job mention some Lance that was a student at the Garrison and it peaked my interest." Shiro appeared to doubt the response. He warily looked around at his surroundings, knowing full well that his brother had many weapons hidden in plain sight. "Okay, yeah. I'll look into it for you."

Keith let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, "thanks." His eyes wandered around the faces on the board before settling on the face of a young man in the middle of the board. Almost instinctually, Keith reached out towards the picture. His lips turned upwards into a somewhat brittle smile, no happiness emitting from his expression. Shiro felt a pang of sadness at the face of the young adult in front of him. "Come on, Keith. I want you to meet some of my friends." This snapped him out of his trance, "friends?" He laughed bitterly. "We are nothing alike, why do you want me to meet your friends?”

Shiro rolled his eyes, "maybe because you only leave your house to kill people?" Keith scoffed, unconvinced. “Exactly, what could go wrong?" He mockingly asked.  Shiro grabbed his little brother's wrist and practically dragged him out of the enclosed space, out into the open air. "We're going," Shiro glanced over his shoulder. "Whether you want to or not."

Keith knew better than to argue with his brother, it would get him nowhere. He let out a sigh of defeat and followed closely behind his brother, the hot desert sand crunched under boots like a blanket of snow, something they didn’t get often. Shiro’s figure against the Southern Californian desert background seemed like something out of a movie poster, it amused Keith to think of his older brother as the star of a film.

His smirk quickly fell from his face when they reached Shiro's black motorcycle. Keith was almost immediately filled with dread when he had to climb onto the back of the sleek bike. The blood flowing through his veins felt as if they had turned into molasses, rendering his limbs slow and heavy. His face twisted into a horrible expression, but he didn't say a word or start to protest. Shiro carefully watched him, as if half expecting him to start yelling and throwing things.

Keith silently willed himself to straddle the motorcycle, his arms halfheartedly wrapped around his brother's waist. Shiro visibly calmed down when Keith got on the bike, relieved that he had given in. He revved up the engine and warned his passenger to brace himself. Keith's body tensed as he lurched backward, causing his grip to tighten so he wouldn't fall off.

The roar of the motorcycle was deafening, a nice contrast to the scream of silence that he usually surrounds himself in. The wind whipped his hair around his head as they sped off, the uncontrollable long black strands flying into his eyes and mouth. He had begun to be overwhelmed. The suddenness of it all, the sound of the air speeding by his ears which filled his mind with white noise that blocked out all thought; he wasn’t in control of anything in this situation. His heart longed for the familiar comfort of his home, where he felt safe. Where he was in control. He looked behind them hoping to see his rundown shack in the distance, only to find his view obscured by a billow of dirt caused by the motorcycle.

A slight frown had found it's way on his expression, though he turned himself around. His chest pressed up tightly against his brother's as if he was his lifeline because, in a way, he was.

He watched the desert fly by as they rose on, natural rock formations blurring past. Keith realized he forgot to ask Shiro who exactly they were meeting, not that it mattered. He knew of some of his friends, but had not met any of them in person. His mind had created a list of all the friends that he knew the names of. At the top of the list was Allura, his girlfriend of 3 months. Keith didn’t know much about her, other than that she was Principal Alfor’s daughter. The color drained from his face, he almost killed her father the night before. He warily tried to catch a look of Shiro’s face, to no avail. Keith tried to move past the fact that was staring him in the face and moved on to the next person on his list.

Matt Holt. Keith didn’t know much of him, other than his sister was still in high school and that he was supposedly really smart. The two had been friends since Shiro’s first year of college, and had been almost inseparable since. Whenever he had left the house, it was to hang out with Matt. Though when after he graduated, Matt and his family moved to another state to be closer to their father’s job. After a year or two, Matt and his sister moved back to the area and the friends had reconnected.

The list of names became blurred, almost as if they couldn’t focus. Keith couldn’t remember their names, or their relevance to his brother’s life. Who was a friend and who was a student he had a project with? He furrowed his eyebrows as he searched his brain trying to remember. It took a moment for him to realize that the roar of the engine had stopped and that they weren’t moving anymore. He bewilderedly looked at his surroundings, his eyes wide. The buildings lining the bustling street told him that they had arrived at their destination. He sheepishly let go of Shiro’s waist, allowing him to stand up. Keith’s hands raked his fingers through his windblown hair in attempt to make it presentable, “so we’re here?” He looked up at his brother, who only smirked at him.

He sighed and pushed himself off of the motorcycle, trying to act cool. Shiro gestured for Keith to follow him as he walked towards a quaint coffee shop called ‘Altea.’ His nerves had started to creep up his neck, and he felt his stomach twist into knots. Shiro glanced over at him before pulling open the door. They were welcomed with a strong aroma of lavender that originated from a bundle of incense near the door. Shiro’s hand shot up to his nose to block out the smell that burned his nose, but Keith appeared to be unfazed. He watched as his brother scanned the tables for the familiar faces of his friends. His eyes lit up and he pointed to a table by the corner of the establishment, ‘there.”

The pair began to weave their way through the tables that were scattered throughout the space, politely excuses themselves passed the other patrons. A wide smile was plastered on his brother’s face as he pulled out a wooden chair from under the table. Keith awkwardly shifted his weight between his two feet as he tried to figure out where to sit. Shiro patted the seat of the chair beside him. He quickly pulled out the chair and sat down, his eyes focussed downwards towards his lap. His brother laughed, “this is Keith.”

He felt all of their eyes on him as they expected him to introduce himself. “Sorry for his rudeness, he’s shy.” Keith fought off the urge to kick his brother from under the table, like they did when they were kids. He slowly rose his eyes up to look at the faces of his friends. His fingernails dug into his knees, because to him this definitely was a dream and he will wake up in his shack at any second.

The woman sitting on the other side of Shiro smiled gently. “My name is Allura,” she winked at Shiro. “I’m sure he has told you about me.” Keith returned an awkward smile in return, “yeah.” Saying Allura was beautiful was like saying the ocean was wide: it was an understatement. Her dyed white hair poured over her shoulders and down her back, a stark contrast to her flawless brown skin. Not to mention her enchanting blue eyes that captured your soul when you stared into them. She was like a masterpiece meant to he displayed in an art gallery.

“He told me that you were single. How old are you? I’m sure that I can find some pretty ladies around your age for you to date.” Shiro almost choked on the water he was drinking, “that’s not necessary! Keith’s 18, I think he can find some ‘ladies’ by himself!” She pouted as she drew spirals on the tablecloth, “fine.”

As beautiful as she was, Keith’s attention was drawn in by the guy that was sitting across from him. He hid behind large rimmed glasses that covered most of his face but he could still tell he was attractive. The man must’ve noticed that he was staring, evident by the blush that bloomed on his cheeks as he turned his face away. “Oh, Keith, this is Matt.” Shiro must have saw as well, since he decided to introduce them.

You can do this, he thought, think of it as a job. His lips crawled up into a smirk that looked and felt natural.  “Shiro has told me so much about you, it’s good to put a face to your name.” The blush on Matt’s cheeks deepened as he stuttered out his reply, “you too.” Keith saw Shiro smile in his peripheral vision. He wondered if his brother knew that he was acting, that his smile and personality was fake. His smile faltered for a split second, but no one noticed.

No one ever notices.

Keith’s attention turned back to Allura, who rambled on about her father’s goals and accomplishments for the University. He nodded along with her, praising Alfor’s so called genius. Every so often, his eyes drifted to Shiro to make sure he was convinced by his lie. All that Keith wanted to do was to curl up into himself and vanish from the plane of existence. He wanted to be back at his shack where everything was just as he wanted them to be, he was in control.

He just wanted to go back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW THIS IS SAD. ALSO WOW LOOK AT THAT WORD COUNT MY DUDES


End file.
